15th of Fall, 512 A.V. The University's living quarters, the place where many of the students studying at Mizahar's largest institution of learning made their homes, were small and spartan. The education at the University was top-notch, which probably explained why the room and board included with the cheap tuition were so poor. Though the rooms came in multiple sizes, Samantha found that, much to her dismay, she was assigned one of the smallest available rooms. It was bare save for the bed, a desk with a stool for work, and a small window that overlooked the yard in front of the block. Each room also had a small washroom with a chamberpot and washbasin, both of which Samantha was feeling the urge to use right then. The mage was lying on her back in the bed with an air of restlessness. She had decided that, since she had no classes that day, she would take the day off for a well-needed break. All the classes, studying, and her personal practice and research took its toll on her after only a few days at the University. The woman was only just now starting to get adjusted to the busy schedule. Still, she couldn't simply sleep in and enjoy her day of relaxation. She needed to do something productive. She had been trying to sleep in past the sixth bell of the morning, but had failed utterly. It was now the ninth bell, and she hadn't slept a wink more than when she had first awakened. On a regular morning, the sixth was her regular rising time. Samantha's body just couldn't shake her regular sleep pattern and let her get a little more sleep, could it? With a sigh of defeat, the woman crawled out of bed and stretched the kinks out of her back and neck. The bed was hard and uneven, the blanket thin, and the pillow reminded her of a lump of stale bread. Perhaps she would spend a few mizas on some luxuries to make her nights more restful... Samantha yawned and walked drowsily into the washroom. As soon as she stood up, the woman felt as if she could just fall right back into bed; she knew, however, that she would feel like getting up again as soon as she laid her head down. That was how her body worked. As she relieved herself and washed up with the lukewarm water she had left in the basin, Samantha considered her plans for the day. Or she would have, if she had any. The woman was having a hard time coming up with things to occupy her time for the day. Though she had several hobbies, Samantha could not think of anything she particularly wanted to do right then. She shrugged and returned to the main room of her small dormitory to dress and make herself presentable for whatever she was to do that day. Clad only in her undergarments, the mage was suddenly aware of the bared window and the way it would expose her immodesty if someone were to pass by at the right angle. She hurriedly tugged her clothes on, slipping her pale blue blouse over her head and pulling her skirt up over her hips. Samantha straightened her clothes with less haste and seated herself on her lumpy bed. As she brushed her hair to get the knots and kinks out of it, the woman continued her pondering, somewhat frustrated. What could she do that didn't revolve around knowledge and study? She could practice reading the auras of strangers passing by, but that was tiring and would do nothing to help her relax. Spending a day shielding would be enjoyable, but she was feeling like doing something a little more productive. She could learn from her shields, but the mage knew she could spend her free time better elsewhere. What else could she do, though? Samantha jerked her brush through her hair a bit too hard and winced as a few hairs were plucked painfully from her scalp. Damn brush, she thought irritably, knowing that it was her fault, not the brush's. She still enjoyed blaming the innocent tool, however. The woman considered searching for Aaron again, but that was obviously hopeless and frustrating. The child had just vanished after she left him asleep in his dormitory. The single time she had been there since, another person had occupied the room. When she asked him about the boy, he'd obviously had no idea who Samantha had been referring to. Somehow, he had eluded her completely. The thought angered her; she despised being bested in anything, especially by that pint-sized wisp of a child! It was disgraceful that he had outsmarted her while barely able to even stand due to his fatigue. Was he even really tired? He could have been faking it, for all Samantha knew. She had it! When Samantha had met with the boy, he had admitted to using some sort of magic. Until now, she had forgotten about that. The woman had been meaning to research and deduce exactly what Aaron had done which had caused him to become so weary, but Samantha had been too busy with her regular studies to do it. Maybe now was the time to finally get started. Samantha had wanted to allow herself to relax and enjoy herself for once, but she supposed that spending her day studying in the quiet recesses of the library was more profitable. Besides, she enjoyed the library; It was the one place she felt fully at ease. Her decision made, the woman stood from her bed, gathered her things, and stepped out of her dorm and into daylight. It was only when she was halfway to the library that Samantha realized she was late for her meeting with Cadena Fianza. The woman, with a gasp, turned and practically dashed off towards the Summoning Labs. Samantha had met Miss Fianza only once. She had spoken a single sentence, "Meet me in the labs on the fifteenth at the tenth bell." After that, the strangely intimidating woman had walked away without so much as a goodbye. At first, the mage had been infuriated by the woman's attitude. What right did she have to act that way? Had it not been for the difficulty of locating a summoning teacher, Samantha might have refused to go to the class at all. It was very fortunate for her that she had restrained her temper that day; the rumors she'd heard of the woman since were downright scary. They ranged from cruel things like giving a pupil improper instruction that lead to injury all the way to whispers that she had summoned a giant horned beast to gore a student who had tried to advance upon her romantically. Of course, Samantha doubted all of these stories. No teacher would keep her position for long acting like that. Besides, the woman would be lucky to have any suitor at all with the way she acted around others. So arrogant and smug about her knowledge! Then again... Samantha had heard other rumors about the woman and the way her mood could change in the presence of someone she felt the need to court. Still, the very last thing Samantha wanted to do was displease the woman who held the key to learning one of the most coveted arcane skills in Mizahar. The power to bring forth creatures to do her bidding was something Samantha found hard to refuse. She didn't want to test the rumors about Miss Fianza's ruthlessness, either. Being eaten by an extra-planar creature didn't really appeal to her very much, and so she ran. It had been close to the tenth bell when Samantha had left the room, she was certain. She was definitely late! Just as she thought that, the woman burst into the Summoning Labs, breathing heavily from her exertion. She came face to face with Miss Fianza, tapping her foot impatiently on the cold stone of the labs. "Miss Slate," The Summoner said in a tone so icy that it made Samantha's harshest words seem like praise, "You are late." "I'm sorry," Samantha panted, pushing her disheveled hair behind her shoulder, "It slipped my mind." The mage straightened her posture and met her teacher's eyes. If she were to be given a tongue lashing by the stiff, arrogant woman in front of her, she'd face it head-on. She changed her mindwhen her eyes met those of Cadena Fianza. The woman's gaze was colder than Morwen's heart, and her stern expression half-convinced the fledgling mage that she was going to summon some long-forgotten beast to assure Samantha of the rumors that she had heard about the frightening teacher. All doubts about the woman's fearsome demeanor were gone, replaced with a kind of intimidation that Samantha rarely felt. Beaten, she lowered her eyes to indicate surrender. Some battles were better left unfought. "I am sure," Fianza said, "I gave you a meeting, and you were careless enough to be late. Ten chimes late! You enrolled after the season's assemby, and I gave you the benefit of the doubt. How foolish of me. You are dismissed; do not bother coming back." With that, the woman brushed past Samantha and started towards the door, her shoes clacking against the stone of the lab floor. The mage gawked at Fianza's retreating back for a moment. She'd given in, and the woman still refused to teach her? Samantha hurried after the woman, her own steps mirroring those of the angry teacher. Her eyes had gone from a ruddy, reddish color to a deep brown, the worry obvious in her expression. "Miss Fianza, wait!" Samantha cried, the desperation she felt began crawling into her words despite herself. It humiliated her that she had to beg someone to teach her. Not only did she have to beg, but the person was already paid to do it. This was her job! When it became obvious that her pleas fell on deaf ears, Samantha reached for the other woman's arm. Instantly, she regretted it. No sooner had her hand grasped the teacher's upper arm than a flurry of inky blackness leaped towards her, blinding her vision. Slashes of pain diced into her face; in terrified horror she let go of the teacher and tried to rip the darkness away. To her shock, the darkness flew away from her before her hands could make contact with it. Instead, she felt the slick, oozing blood that the...whatever it was had drawn from her skin. Small slashes covered her face, each one burning with a slowly fading pain. Samantha looked from the teacher to the darkness on the floor, trembling like a leaf. Her terror had tinted her eyes an inky black, as if her pupils had dilated to cover the whole iris of her eye. "What...what the petching...What is that thing?" The woman said in a whiny sort of voice. The shape on the floor was distinctly feline. It was a cat! The woman mumbled a few expletives and took a step backwards, turning her attention back to Fianza. Though Samantha wanted nothing more than to run away and hide in her bed, she still knew that whatever this teacher could do, the woman wanted to know how. She was aware how foolish she was acting, but Samantha couldn't bring herself to care. She had never been attacked like that before... "He is not a thing!" Fianza snapped testily, the cat seeming to glide through the air into her hand. Then, the most shocking thing happened. Mid-flight, it somehow formed itself into a perfect replica of the necklace that Fianza had worn. No, that thing was the necklace! Her neck was bare where the necklace had been only moments before. Something was most certainly not right. "His name is Suiembro." The woman seemed offended. She's angry with me? That monster nearly ripped my face off! "Suiembro." Samantha repeated slowly, forcing herself to calm down. She wiped the blood off her face to keep it from dripping into her eyes, "What the petch did it do that for?" Her anger was evident both in her expression and in her crimson eye color, which blended in very well with the blood that covered her face. "It could have killed me!" She cried indignantly. The rumors about Fianza were undoubtedly true; she was insane! Unfortunately, she also had something Samantha needed; knowledge. "He!" She corrected fiercely, "You will not use such language in my presence. Suiembro doesn't like it," She added the last part with a nasty smile. "Come, let us get you cleaned up so you can get out of my lab." With that, Fianza walked off towards a small alcove where several bandages and other things undoubtedly for medical care rested. Without much choice, the mage followed. This time, she kept her mouth shut. She was going to make that vagik teach her, even if it was the last thing she did. The teacher promptly picked up a single length of cloth and tossed it to Samantha without looking behind. The mage, not expecting it, dropped the cloth and had to bend down to pick it up before applying it to her badly scratched face. She was sure it would scar her. The thought irked Samantha; she didn't have any scars, and having unsightly lines crisscrossing her face, no matter how faint, was disturbing. "Miss Fianza," Samantha said, her voice muffled by the cloth over her face, "What was that th--Suiembro?" With a slight sigh, the mage resigned herself to having to humble herself before the teacher. If she didn't, she was sure that Fianza would just laugh at her and walk away. "A familiar," Came the clipped reply, "Do you need anything else, or can you get out now?" The woman's curtness was growing annoying, but it barely registered to Samantha. She was too busy dealing with her pain and planning her next words to notice much else. If she said the wrong thing, Samantha was certain she would be either killed or maimed by the temperamental teacher whose knowledge she so coveted. With a slight wince, Samantha peeled the cloth away from her face. The half-dried blood ripped away from her face with more pain than the mage would care to admit. Nevertheless, she forced herself to keep a straight face as she replied, "Please, Miss Fianza, couldn't you reconsider? Could you give me another chance?" Samantha was practically pleading with the teacher, who just smirked triumphantly at her. "Please?" The cloth was clutched tightly in the mage's hands, now. If she went through all of this for nothing, Samantha was sure she'd go insane. The summoner took her time considering Samantha's words. For two or three Chimes, Fianza just regarded the mage. She walked around her a few times, like a herder appraising his cattle. Samantha realized that she really was worth about as much as cattle to Fianza. Perhaps less. She had caused trouble, and the teacher would have none of that in her classroom. After an interminable silence, the summoner's voice, low and hard, came from just behind Samantha. She jumped at the sudden voice; the woman had gotten behind her and was speaking harshly into her ear. "What would you do to take my classes? What is it worth to you? Prove to me that you're worth the time," The voice was quiet, barely above a mumble, yet the force and authority in the words made Samantha uneasy. Intuitively, Samantha knew that if she asked for a specific task, she would be dismissed out of hand. She knew about this kind of situation; the woman wanted something, but Samantha couldn't be sure what. Uncomfortably, the mage realized that the teacher knew exactly what she was capable of; in order to get into the class late, Samantha had listed all of her abilities on the application form. It had worked, and she had been foolish enough to petching forget the meeting! "Anything," The woman answered after only a brief hesitation, her voice shaking almost imperceptibly. What would Fianza make her do? "Anything at all?" The woman's voice asked, mocking. "Would you let Suiembro have some more fun with you? Would you let your pretty little face be ripped apart and ruined, just for this chance? Would you risk your life to learn what I know?" A cruel chuckle emanated from the teacher, standing just behind and to the side of Samantha. The vagik was having fun with her...trying to make her squirm. More likely than not, all she wanted was to make Samantha feel cowardly before dismissing her. In either case, she would end up losing the tutelage of the summoner. Truth be told, Samantha really would let the...familiar, Fianza had called it, do anything it wanted to her. If it somehow meant being able to control forces even half as terrifying as Suiembro, then she would risk anything. "Anything," the mage repeated, "As long as it doesn't kill me." If torture were the only way, then torture it would be. Samantha's words were vastly amusing to Fianza for some reason, for she doubled over in loud, cruel laughter. "You brat!" She said through her mirth, "You spoiled rotten little girl!" The mage's back stiffened and her eyes flooded with the crimson once more as she watched her hoped-for teacher laugh in her face. "You're lying!" She managed to control herself, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, as she looked back to Samantha. Seeing the woman's deadly serious attitude and words, the summoner sobered further. "You really are telling the truth, aren't you?" She asked, "You're a fool. This art is deadly and only the most brilliant, daring, and clever will survive any extended, unsupervised ventures." Seeing that the woman's resolve did not weaken at Fianza's attempts to dissuade her, the teacher let a slow smile creep across her face, "Very well, then. You'll get your chance. You need to do something for me first, however." The summoner circled around to face Samantha directly, her face only an inch away. With a challenging gaze, the woman's slow, deliberate voice made Samantha want to quail from the horrible task that surely awaited her. "I want you to meet me for lunch on the twentieth," The voice did not change, though a small smile curled the woman's lips, "I'll tell you what you need to do then." After Samantha nodded her consent, Fianza backed up two steps and returned the nod, her smile both condescending and, somehow, more friendly, if not exactly warm. "Do try not to be late, Miss Slate. I do not like going hungry...And Suiembra does not like tardiness any more than I do." With her mocking laugh--one that Samantha was growing entirely too familiar with--the woman left the lab and her student behind. Before she could do anything, Samantha heard the woman's voice call, "The World's End Grotto! Be there at the twelfth bell!" For several chimes, Samantha stared after Fianza; the meeting didn't go at all like she had planned it, but all had worked out in the end. Samantha would get her teaching, and she wasn't dead. That had to be something, at least. As she closed the door to the lab behind her and began the trek back to her dormitories to give her face some time to heal, she thought with unease about the task ahead of her. She had absolutely no idea what the summoner could possibly want, but it was sure to be terrible. Samantha got odd looks from many of the students she passed, and couldn't help being aware of the pain that throbbed in her face and the infuriating tickling sensation that came as small droplets of blood rolled down her cheeks to drip off of her chin. She knew that she must look terrible, but her elation did not diminish. She had her chance to learn, and she wouldn't waste it. Her thoughts drifted to that evil shadow that had attacked her. Fianza had called it a familiar... Intrigued, the mage made a note to look it up when she got the opportunity to head to the library. Perhaps she could learn a little more about summoning after she sated her curiosity about the thing that had attacked her. If Samantha could impress Fianza, maybe she could survive the woman's class, after all. |
OOCI just kind of made up something that the Gordios could do, since there's no wiki article on them. If what I wrote wouldn't really be plausible(I was assuming they could take a semi-solid shape of some sort), then I can fix it. I don't intend to have any more major dealings with the Gordios, at least not in any way that might exhibit abilities that one might have, since it isn't going to have a big part in the thread series.
